Drunkenness.-This vice is repeatedly forbidden by St. Paul: "Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess"-Eph. v. 18. "Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God"-Rom. xiii. 13. "They that be drunken, are drunken in the night; but let us who are of the day be sober." -1 Thess. v. 7, 8.

The Effects of Gambling.-On Monday, August 1, an inquest was held at Northfleet in Kent, on the body of a lad, aged 16. It appeared that the unfortunate youth was in the service of Mr. Law of that place, and up to a short period he always conducted himself in the most exemplary manner; but latterly he had become the associate of a party of lads, about his own age, who were much addicted to gambling, &c. On Saturday afternoon, his master and his family happened to go out, and during their absence he joined his old companions, with whom he lost about seventeen shillings. His ill luck acted so powerfully upon his mind, that he went home and hung himself by his neckcloth to a beam in his master's stable. Verdict, Deranged and distracted.—St. James's Chronicle.

Exemplary Conduct rewarded.-At a meeting of a Society in Carmarthenshire a few years since, two of the premiums were adjudged to Elizabeth Llewelyn, who had lived as a hired servant with Thomas Williams, farmer in the parish of Llangadock, twenty-three years, at £3 3s. 6d. per annum wages, without losing a single day from her service during that period; and has also, with her savings, purchaed a cot and garden, and built another, for both of which she receives £3 a-year, and also interest of money lent.-London Paper.

Art thou in a mean and low station of life? Know, then, that Providence calls thee to the exercise of industry, contentinent, submission, patience, hope, an humble dependence on him, and a respectful deference to thy superiors. In this way, thou mayest shine through thy obscurity, and render thyself amiable in the sight of God and man; and not only so, but find more satisfaction, safety, and self-enjoyment, than they who move in a higher sphere, from whence they are in danger of falling.-Mason on Self-Knowledge.

THE

FAMILY MONITOR.

No. X.

OCTOBER, 1831.

VOL. I.

FEASTS AND FASTS OF THE CHURCH OF England eXPLAINED.

St. Luke's Day.

Oct. 18.-St. Luke the Evangelist was born at Antioch, a place celebrated for schools of sound literature and good education, where he became an excellent proficient in all sorts of human learning. After that he applied himself to the study of physic, and became eminent for that profession, and no less, it is said, for his admirable skill in painting. During his abode at Antioch, he was converted by St. Paul, and afterwards became with him an inseparable companion and fellow-labourer in the ministry of the gospel. He attended him in all his perils, and assisted him in his greatest difficulties; for which reason St. Paul calls him "the beloved physician, whose praise is in the gospel, throughout all churches." How St. Luke disposed of himself, after St. Paul's martyrdom at Rome, is not very certain; some say that our Evangelist confined his ministry to Egypt, and the parts of Lybia: others, that he preached first in Dalmatia and Galatia, then in Italy and Macedonia, discharging his duty with all imaginable care and fidelity. As to the time and manner of his death, we have but a very slender account; though (according to Nicephorus) a party of infidels, being enraged at his doctrine, hung him upon an olive-tree, in the 80th, or 84th year of his age. He is called the Evangelist, being one of the four that wrote the History of our Saviour's Life. He likewise wrote the History of the Acts of the Apostles.

VOL. I.

3 L

St. Simon and St. Jude.

Oct. 28. This is a double festival, set apart in commemoration of two apostles, Simon, called Zelotes, or the Canaanite; and Jude, otherwise called Thaddæus, or Lebbæus, the brother of James the less. The history in the gospel furnishes us with a very slender account of the first; only that after his conversion, he shewed a great zeal for the Christian faith. It is thought that after our Saviour's ascension, he journeyed into Egypt, and Cyrene, and Africa, and there preached the gospel; and from thence, that he went into Lybia, and Mauritiana; and after that into the Western Islands, and even, tradition says, as far as Great Britain. He also suffered martyrdom.

As to St. Jude, he was certainly a constant attendant upon our Saviour's person and ministry, till his crucifixion. After the ascension, he preached in Judea and Galilee, then visited Samaria, Idumea, and some parts of Arabia; afterwards Syria, and Mesopotamia; and, at last, it is said, that he travelled into Persia; where he was barbarously put to death by the Magi, for reproving their superstitious rites. He has left behind him one epistle, which is received into the sacred canon.

SIR;

LITURGY EXPLAINED.

To the Editor of the Family Monitor.

my

attendance at

IT has often been a source of regret to me, in divine worship, to observe, even among many well-meaning persons, and those from whose education one might warrant better things, how little they appeared to enter into or understand the meaning and purpose of many of the most beautiful parts of the Liturgy. This must either arise from inattention or ignorance; but from whatever cause, it is one on which a few explanatory remarks and observations may be deemed useful; and such I had determined to offer through the medium of your pages, when I met, in a work I have been lately reading, so clear and good an explanation of the different parts of the service of our church, that I have ventured to make a few extracts from it, which I

now submit to your judgment; it is entitled, " Religious and Moral Reflections," intended for the use of his parishioners, by the Rev. Samuel Hopkinson, and perhaps may not have fallen into the hands of many of your readers, particularly servants, and those for whose information I wish particularly to design this paper.

Yours, &c.

Common Prayer.

S

It is impossible to be present at the celebration of divine worship without noticing various irregularities. Nor are these peculiar to lonely villages, far remote from the regions of refinement. They are equally visible in the town and in the city, and nowhere more notorious than in the largest churches. Far be it from my intention to give offence in any thing. If, however, with such an object in view, I am likely to incur the imputation of vanity, or uncharitableness, I am neither afraid nor unwilling to offend in all. The notion commonly entertained of going to church, is to address the Supreme Being in prayer. This, it must be confessed, is true in the main, though incorrect in part, as will clearly appear by a candid examination of what is pre

scribed in our established form.

Some, dreadful to think! never enter any place to pay that public tribute of adoration, imperiously required by God, of every human being, enjoined by the laws of the land, with a degree of liberality unknown to the generality of other countries, and admired by every advocate for civil and religious liberty. Among such as do occasionally attend, how many conduct themselves in a manner sufficient to induce a stranger to suspect religion was not their business, sitting, you see, when they ought to kneel; silent when they ought to speak; speaking when they ought to hear; while others, it is to be remarked, are either dozing away their time in idleness, thinking on temporal affairs, whispering, gazing, or unkindly remarking the foibles of their neighbours, without considering that the service of the church, which can never be properly performed if not properly attended to, consists of facts spiritually differing from each other, as prayers, thanksgivings, instructions, commands, and exhortations.

To caution the unwary, to instruct the ignorant, and to re

mind the uninformed, the following suggestions are offered to their notice.

In going to the house of God on the solemn returning day, ponder your path before you enter the place especially dedicated to the Deity! Endeavour by the way to cherish such a sense of the divine perfections, as may rouse proper affections in your soul, and preserve a suitable deportment of your body during the different parts of the service. Coming late or departing soon, indicates, at least, an indecorous levity of mind, ill-calculated to imbibe good impressions. While you are there, the external habiliments of your body are to correspond strictly with the internal feeling of your mind, and both must be suitable to the sanctity of the holy place, as well as to the glory of the divine presence.

1. Prayer is an act of piety, accompanied by words and gestures for the acquisition of some present or future blessing, which can never ascend as a grateful memorial before the Most High, without attention and humility. Consider, then, before you ask, what it is you ask for, and in asking, see that you do not ask amiss.

2. Thanksgiving is a voluntary acknowledgment of what we owe to a daily providence. No one can surely fail to do this, who considers that the divine goodness is not limited to a few, but extendeth over all, from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.

3. Profession is a serious declaration of what we will do, or what we will not do, according to the tenets of that body to which each belongs.

4. Every part of our service is in a greater or less degree instructive; but the matchless doctrine of our blessed Lord's sermon upon the Mount, and the rules so admirably calculated for the economy of human life in the Proverbs of Solomon, are instructions which, if properly attended to, will lead us, through Christ, to everlasting righteousness.

5. To command, implies right and power on the side of the commander. Who can be said to possess these but that Almighty Being, who has given us a law which shall not be broken? Whether we consider the ten commandments only, whether we extend our attention to the diverse precepts interspersed gene